- Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe in a psychological horror, Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland, Takashi Miike’s best film in years – there’s lots to see
- Also showing: a Shaun the Sheep sequel, a stylish Chinese neo-noir, and two People’s Choice Award winners from the Toronto International Film Festival
The International Film Festival & Awards Macao returns for its fourth edition in December " a six-day celebration of the best in world cinema that includes some of the year's most hotly anticipated films.
From award-winners to undiscovered independent films, the line-up boasts close to 50 features, and offers something for audiences of all ages, with storylines running the gamut from mermaids to Nazis and from feuding families to animated farm animals.
These are our must-see films from this year's line-up:
Jojo Rabbit
This year's opening film is Taika Waititi's scabrous anti-war satire, winner of the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. It tells the hilarious and heartbreaking story of Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis), a confused 10-year-old in the Hitler Youth who discovers to his horror that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic.
With the help of his imaginary best friend, Adolf (Waititi), Jojo is forced to face the harsh realities of the Holocaust head on. Sam Rockwell and Stephen Merchant also star. (December 5)
Better Days
Derek Tsang Kwok-cheung's follow-up to the 2016 critical darling Soul Mate has already proved a hit in China. Segueing from classroom drama to murder thriller with assurance, Better Days stars Zhou Dongyu as Nian, a tragic high schooler, tormented by bullies and buried under the stress of ultra-competitive university entrance exams.
When she crosses paths with a young hoodlum (Jackson Yee from TFboys), an unlikely friendship is forged, that offers the tantalising prospect of escape and validation. (December 5)
Dance with Me
Ayaka Miyoshi committed to more than 250 hours of song and dance lessons in preparation for her performance as Shizuka, an ordinary office lady who accidentally succumbs to a hypnotist's spell. Instead of her daughter gaining the confidence to perform at her school musical, it is Shizuka who now breaks out into full-blown musical numbers without a moment's warning.
Writer-director Shinobu Yaguchi conjures up a delightful old-fashioned song and dance extravaganza, packed with toe-tapping tunes and energetic, life-affirming performances. (December 5)
The Platform
A minimalist science-fiction allegory that deservedly won the People's Choice Award for Midnight Madness at the Toronto film festival, Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia's high-rise horror is not for the squeamish.
Set in a monolithic vertical prison, with a pair of inmates assigned to each floor, a slowly descending platform provides the only sustenance during their stay. Feeding solely from the leftovers of those above, this deliciously realised Spanish nightmare serves up the greed of those on top, as well as the cutthroat desperation of those confined to the bottom, in a riotous buffet of genre-bending truths. (December 6)
The Lighthouse
Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe are at the top of their game as a pair of mismatched lighthouse keepers in 19th century New England, in director Robert Eggers' ambitious follow-up to The Witch.
Shot in stark black and white and penned in the salty tongue of Herman Melville, The Lighthouse is a brilliantly realised psychological nightmare of sea shanties, mermaids, machismo and madness, as the harsh conditions and claustrophobic quarters take a toll on the two wizened wickies.
By turns horrifying and playfully humorous, it is also one of the year's most singular film-going experiences. (December 6)
The Long Walk
Laos' first female filmmaker, Mattie Do, continues to create challenging and highly personal genre movies in her home country with this heart-wrenching story of a life shaped by guilt and regret.
For decades, an old man (Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy) has been accompanied by the spirit of a young woman whose death he witnessed as a small boy. When he discovers that she has the power to transport him through time, he sets in motion a dangerous plan to exorcise his own personal demons, with little regard for how it will reshape the future. (December 7)
First Love
With more than 100 feature films under his belt, Japanese provocateur Takashi Miike delivers his best work in years with this delightfully convoluted late-night delight.
First Love follows a young boxer (Masataka Kubota) and a desperate prostitute (Sakurako Konishi) as they meet, fall in love, and become entangled in a violent caper involving the yakuza, corrupt cops and a stolen bag of drugs.
Shota Sometani has rarely been better than as the opportunistic, off-the-rails hoodlum who kick-starts the mayhem, but it is Becky Rabone, as his rampaging girlfriend, who steals the show. (December 7)
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
This second big-screen outing for the mischievous residents of Mossy Bottom Farm sees Shaun the Sheep and his woolly friends encounter a stranded little alien called Lu-La. Soon the entire flock is tasked with helping the sparkly creature track down her spacecraft before she is apprehended by a secret government agency.
Aardman Animations have been pioneers in stop-motion claymation for more than 30 years, earning multiple Oscars for their creations Wallace and Gromit. Their latest offering promises a side-splitting sci-fi spectacular the whole family can enjoy. (December 8)
Judy
Renee Zellweger is already attracting Oscar buzz for her performance as Hollywood icon Judy Garland, whose final days are chronicled in this biopic from acclaimed theatre director Rupert Goold.
Towards the end of her life, the Wizard of Oz star moved to London to perform in a series of sold-out concerts, but her health and talent were already impaired by alcohol and substance abuse. Adapted from the celebrated Broadway play End of the Rainbow, Judy pays tribute to the stage and screen legend who was consumed by her own success. (December 8)
The Wild Goose Lake
Diao Yinan follows up his Berlin Golden Bear winner Black Coal, Thin Ice with another unflinching neo-noir examining the criminal underbelly of contemporary China.
Hu Ge stars as a small-time gangster, who goes on the run after killing a policeman. Taiwanese actress Gwei Lun-mei plays the shady femme fatale looking to turn him in to the authorities and collect a 300,000 yuan (US$42,000) reward, while Liao Fan is the cop on his trail.
Visually ravishing and tautly edited, The Wild Goose Lake is a stylish and surprising respite from China's big budget blockbusters. (December 9)
The Truth
Hirokazu Kore-eda, the Palme d'Or winning director of Shoplifters , tackles his first non-Japanese language project with this playful French drama starring acting heavyweights Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche, as well as Ethan Hawke.
Deneuve plays a veteran screen actress who is reunited with her estranged daughter (Binoche), just as her memoir is published " a book that exposes a number of long-held family secrets. Despite the cosmetic changes, Kore-eda remains in familiar territory, exploring the convoluted and fractious relationships within every family, and the petty rivalries that exist across the generations. (December 9)
The fourth edition of International Film Festival & Awards Macao runs from December 5 to 10 at various venues in Macau. For full programme details, visit the festival website.
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